Like the Autumn Leaves
by seddie perfection
Summary: All you have to do is look Sam and you'll know/you've already fallen/like the leaves from the autumn trees/don't wait too late/winter's approaching/ and god forbid your heart will freeze.


**God, I love this one. I hope you do too.  
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**Disclaimer on my profile.  
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_/All you have to do is look Sam and you'll know/you've already fallen/like the leaves from the autumn trees/don't wait too late/winter's approaching/ and god forbid your heart will freeze._

She sat alone, watching silently as the full moon illuminated the city below. Hundred year old trees stood securely from the ground, their roots entangling themselves around one another. Dead leaves rustled as they tumbled along the road, letting the cool wind blow them away.

Sam pulled the collar of her light jacket closer to her neck, shivering slightly.

She didn't know what she was waiting for. She knew this would be a mistake.

Echoes of laughter rung from inside the old building, one she used to be very familiar with.

She didn't want to see them again, to listen to their boasts and brags about their accomplishments and children.

When she got the letter in the mail, she almost tore it to shreds.

But then, a thought occurred to her, so she decided she would go.

She cursed her stupidity.

She sat miserably, taking a couple of sips from her Champaign, and checked her phone for messages every five minutes, telling people she was expecting a call from someone.

She wasn't.

The food wasn't even that great.

What a waste.

She heard footsteps clank up the rusted staircase, creating a sudden racket, disturbing the peaceful atmosphere.

She felt his shallow breaths against the back of her neck.

_Don't look._

Sam didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

He showed up after all.

"Wendy told me you were up here," He said, sitting down beside her, crossing his legs.

She stared blankly ahead, nodding slightly, acknowledging his comment.

_Don't look._

He took this as permission to continue.

"I remember coming up here as a kid, it was fun."

"Why are you here?" She asked briskly.

He looked up at the sky, the stars danced above him.

His father once told him long ago that if he looked up to the stars for guidance, they would help him find his way.

He quickly learned that it was bullshit. But he admired their beauty anyways.

His lips played a faint smile.

"Same reason why you are."

A couple walked out the front entrance hand in hand many feet below them. The man grabbed the woman by the waist, and spun her around, causing her to erupt in a series of giggles.

She gripped his scarf mischievously, pulling it towards her before capturing his lips with hers.

"That would've been us." Sam whispered, barely audible enough for him to hear.

He hummed in agreement.

_Don't look._

"Why did we break it off?" She wondered aloud, looking down at her unpainted nails.

"Something about us not 'clicking the right way' I think." He replied, glancing at her.

Her complexion shined in the dimmed light, giving her an angelic glow.

"I always thought it was because you thought I wasn't good enough for you." Sam held her breath, hoping he would take her bait, watching the couple walk further and further away.

"No, it wasn't that. I could never think that. I knew you were perfect for me." He assured her.

Damn it.

_Don't look._

"I was heartbroken, you know?"

"So was I." He sighed honestly.

_Don't look._

"How ironic," She snorts.

"We were young and naïve, Sam. We didn't know any better." He replied, reading her mind.

"Yet here we are, 35 years old and still single." She attempted a laugh, but it came out sounding like a strangled cry for help.

She hasn't laughed in a while.

"I know it was hard for you, when Carly..." He trailed off, closing his eyes.

Sam let out a shaky breath. "Yeah," she agreed.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you. I really regret that."

"You don't have to-"

"No, I- I do. I have to."

"Okay." She shrugged her shoulders, masking her pain.

"My mom died a couple of months ago. She left me a letter. The only thing she asked me to do was find someone who made me happy."

The noise from inside dwindled down as the party ended.

He watches her blonde hair blow around her face.

The stars were beautiful; sure.

Sam, however, who was no longer the teenage girl he knew, but a grown up independent woman; she was gorgeous.

He knew. He knew it all this time; he didn't want to waste anymore of it.

"_You_ make me happy, Sam."

She smiled, looking down below her, admiring the view of Seattle. She could easily spot the Space Needle in the distance.

_Don't look._

But fuck, it was hard not to.

She felt like telling him. But he knew her, so she didn't have to.

"Want to get married?"

Her breath hitched.

_Don't look-_

_Screw it._

Winter was approaching and she had already fallen.

Sam turned to Freddie, looking at him for the first time since he arrived. His eyes were the same brown she remembered, his hair was the same way she remembered.

But it was his signature smirk that got her.

It never failed to make her heart beat faster.

They stared into each other's eyes, the continuous wind blowing through the trees, made the only sound.

And finally, she realized just what she's been waiting for.

Her blue eyes lit up the dark sky as she nodded her head feverishly.

Freddie gave her a lopsided grin, standing up and reaching out a hand, pulling her up with him.

"Then let's go." Freddie heard himself say breathlessly, but he was too caught up in the moment to think.

She felt bubbles rise from her stomach, and reach the surface of her lips, the laughter spilled out of her, like the flowing river.

She gasped for air as she laughed; loving the sensation she received from it.

Something she forgot used to feel so good.

They ran across the roof of Ridgeway High, leaving the reunion hand in hand, giddy and in love just like the couple they saw do the same.

"Carly would be proud of us," She told him, suddenly.

"Yeah," Freddie smiled, "I think so too."

_And their lives went on quickly, like a fleeting cloud on a sunny day, yet they were never forgotten._


End file.
